RAPAPORT... The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) will expand its certification to the silver trade, the standards organizations said last week.

Until now, the London-based group has focused on diamonds, gemstones, gold and platinum-group metals, addressing issues in the supply chains of those materials. Extending its reach to silver will help the RJC widen its authority and reputation in the industry, it explained.

“It is a natural progression for the RJC to include the silver sector, furthering our goal to become a fully integrated jewelry supply-chain initiative,” said executive director Andrew Bone. “The expansion allows us to use the expertise we have gathered through our longstanding work across other precious-metal supply chains, and will help us better support a sustainable and ethical silver industry.”

The RJC will publish information related to the silver supply chain in its “Code of Practices,” which defines responsible ethical, human-rights, social and environmental standards. It expects to have finished integrating practices for the silver industry into the code by the end of 2018.